[ad#post_ad]Terri Quigley is the plant manager of the Detroit-Hamtramck (DHAM) plant were the Chevrolet Volt is being built. I just had the chance to ask her a few questions about the current state of progress there.

So what’s happening over there at DHAM right now?
We’ve got a lot of excitement in the air. We are currently in the state of our product development life-cycle that we are building what we call salable Volts through our normal assembly process. So they travel through the paint shop and the general assembly on the same line as our current products. We are building them in buckets. Total production here thus far as has been about 140 units of Chevrolet Volts and those are various stages; pre production builds, we’ve got non-salable builds and we have built 40 of the saleable builds. Those kind of vehicles go to captured test fleets, so its internal customers and several marketing and powertrain engineering customers for those builds.

Are they indistinguishable from the cars that will be sold?
They’ll be very very similar. W’ell continue to make improvements and iterations in both the software and the technology as well as appearance improvements and improvements in the manufacturing process.

So you might make changes in the salable builds based on the captured test fleet results?
Exactly. Subtle improvements. No design theme changes or anything like that at this point in time.

So when you build these cars, do mostly of the control units arrive already programmed or do you program them there?
We do some and some. Some are already preprogrammed. The car’s got 32 to 33 different control modules in it so its a carefully orchestrated piece of technology that’s in a pretty little package. We do program the car here and then we test it for functionality in our dynamic vehicle testing, put it through all the paces it will see in its normal day to day use before we ship it to our internal customers. So we’ve done all the process checks, we call these manufacturing validation builds, you’ll hear some people say MVDs. This is all about validating that the car is ready to go, that I’ve got the operational setup and people trained and we’re ready to go to build these for the paying customers when that time comes later this year.

When will the first consumer Volt be built there?
Right towards the end of the year, the November/December timeframe is our target.

When did you build the first preproduction car there?
The very first one would have been March 31 when I drove the first one off the line.

So your building them very slowly at this point?
Right.That early build over the span of two months or so was only about 36 cars, and then we went to the salables. We take a little brake and incorporate all of our learnings, whether it be at the assembly plant, the supplier community, or the calibration community, and then we go again into this nonsalable bucket that we went through in the June, July timeframe and that was about 63, 64 cars, and then just recently we started the salable bucket over the last two or three weeks as we got through late August.

What the difference between these and the ones you will actually ship to dealers for consumers?
There really is no difference other than we will continue to do some learning cycles. That’s what this captured test fleet portion of this last build will be. There are quite a number of cars that will go to pre-identified internal customers and we’ll be putting miles on the cars just to make sure we’ve got everythgin tidied up and ready to go for the consumers.
[ad#postbottom]

This entry was posted on Monday, September 13th, 2010 at 6:41 am and is filed under Production. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

COMMENTS: 109

1

stuey81_in_australia Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (6:46 am)

awesome and finaly first post i hope, lyle any GM contact on your new fully optioned FREE volt yet?

fingers crossed!

stuey

2

+7

Jim I Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (6:51 am)

I had no idea there were so many different versions that get built before they start building the models for sale.

I wonder what happens to all those cars once they have finished testing them?

Interesting stuff!!!!

The clock is really ticking now!!!

NPNS

3

John C. Briggs Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (6:53 am)

Pretty sure the non-salable units are crushed. We used to do this in the disk drive business.

4

+2

nuclearboy Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (6:55 am)

When will the first consumer Volt be built there?
Right towards the end of the year, the November/December timeframe is our target.

It takes about 2 weeks from the build date to be on the showroom somewhere. It looks like the first Volts would be in a dealership in December and maybe they won’t hit until January.

Just more hogging of all the fun. Let the customers do a little of the testing.

6

JohnK Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (7:02 am)

There is one aspect of this that is disappointing – so much time has passed since March 31, I just kept thinking that they had gradually ramped up production to a higher level. I guess they are being extremely careful to get things right. My enthusiasm told me it could not take so long to work things out.

7

+1

Rashiid Amul Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (7:04 am)

Jim I: I had no idea there were so many different versions that get built before they start building the models for sale.

Ya, its been a learning curve for me also.

8

Rashiid Amul Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (7:06 am)

nuclearboy: It takes about 2 weeks from the build date to be on the showroom somewhere. It looks like the first Volts would be in a dealership in December and maybe they won’t hit until January.

For real? That long? How long does it take to build a car? I thought each car could be built in less than a day. For some reason, I was thinking an hour or two or perhaps less than that.

9

+9

stuey81_in_australia Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (7:07 am)

JohnK: There is one aspect of this that is disappointing – so much time has passed since March 31, I just kept thinking that they had gradually ramped up production to a higher level. I guess they are being extremely careful to get things right. My enthusiasm told me it could not take so long to work things out. (Quote)

they were waiting on an email from EEstor!! lol

stuey

10

+4

Yoseppi Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (7:08 am)

Good to see they are trying to put out a quality product from the start.

11

Roy H Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (7:10 am)

“There are quite a number of cars that will go to pre-identified internal customers”

I suppose “internal customers” might include government fleets? Seems like an odd term to me, fleet customers would be commercial customers, like Hertz rentals, or any number of large companies, but would these be termed “internal”?

12

-1

herm Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (7:17 am)

“There are quite a number of cars that will go to pre-identified internal customers and we’ll be putting miles on the cars just to make sure we’ve got everythgin tidied up and ready to go for the consumers.”

I wonder if Lyle is a pre-identified internal customer and if he is willing to do some testing

Thats a very nice picture of the Volt, looks very nice as my desktop.. never mind the girl, I’m looking at the car.

13

Lee Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (7:21 am)

Have automotive manufacturers ever encrypted their software to prohibit access?

Have they textured the dash yet? That’s a sure sign they are close because once they do that it’s hard to go back and change it?

15

+1

kdawg Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (7:30 am)

Roy H: “There are quite a number of cars that will go to pre-identified internal customers”
I suppose “internal customers” might include government fleets? Seems like an odd term to me, fleet customers would be commercial customers, like Hertz rentals, or any number of large companies, but would these be termed “internal”?

They had really ticked off the mechanics that were not part of their dealership.
All the codes diagnostic codes were unique and the car manufacturers would not share the meanings with anyone but their own dealerships.

If I remember correctly (and I may not be), it took an act of Congress or a threatened act of Congress for the car manufactures to share the codes with the smaller garages.

nuclearboy: It takes about 2 weeks from the build date to be on the showroom somewhere. It looks like the first Volts would be in a dealership in December and maybe they won’t hit until January.

Somewhere “close by”… Add another 10 days by train to get them to California.

24

+3

Loboc Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (8:29 am)

The good news just keeps coming. I’m thinking we’ll see a lot of traffic on the Internet about Volt as we get closer to build day.

I too am amazed the number of iterations that GM goes through to get to a customer build. They had to of built more cars than Tesla at this point!

This is what I have been saying about GM. They build cars in the millions, not thousands. It’s a whole different level than start-ups and even smaller companies. Once they get the build process perfected and the first few bugs fixed in the field, we will see a ramp-up that easily matches customer orders. I’ll be willing to bet that nobody is waiting for a Camaro at this point.

JohnK: Btw, question for CorvetteGuy or anyone else that knows: Do GM employees get treated any differently than “off the street” customers re. delivery position or price?

I think employees can still get ‘preferred price’ (what used to be called Employee Price) but they are not moving to the front of the line here!

26

+4

Tagamet Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (8:43 am)

It’s obviously exciting that the debut is drawing near, but in my *totally* unbiased opinion, GM is missing a great opportunity by ignoring our group. Is there anyone here who wouldn’t sign a non-disclosure agreement quicker than a split lip? By definition, “internal” releases (which to me means GM employees) can only “test” the vehicles in one geographic area. We’re “all over the place” (on so many levels).
OK, I need to meditate a bit (g).
In any case, Exciting times!

Be well,
Tagamet

27

+2

rz Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (8:46 am)

Rashiid Amul: For real? That long? How long does it take to build a car? I thought each car could be built in less than a day. For some reason, I was thinking an hour or two or perhaps less than that. (Quote)

Actually Voltguy got an answer to that question directly from someone working the volt assembly line.
” It takes a week to build a Volt. It takes a little longer then a standard type vehicle because they actually run the Volt through the paint once for the base car and then they tape that off and send the body completely through the entire process again just to do the black top.”

There was other interesting stuff in that post you might want to check for it. I think the subject was 50 volts a day.

Roy H: I suppose “internal customers” might include government fleets? Seems like an odd term to me, fleet customers would be commercial customers, like Hertz rentals, or any number of large companies, but would these be termed “internal”?

Internal = suppliers? The folks who know their own engineering and products the best? Having access to the first salable builds may allow them to complete calibration and testing at a very advanced level without releasing their detailed and closely held proprietary information.

30

Roy H Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (9:07 am)

Roy H: Roy H
“There are quite a number of cars that will go to pre-identified internal customers”

I suppose “internal customers” might include government fleets? Seems like an odd term to me, fleet customers would be commercial customers, like Hertz rentals, or any number of large companies, but would these be termed “internal”?

Oh, I get it. They mean not through dealerships.

31

+1

jeff j Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (9:11 am)

Go Volt !!! Full steam ahead ! It’s been fun watching and learning about this amazing car over the last three years ! One million EREV cars by 2015 .

“I still think the best way I can sum up the Volt so far is to say that the iPhone 4 officially has some tough competition when it comes to gadget of the year.”

Yeah, that was a “10 thumbs up” review.
I want one.

Be well,
Tagamet

35

kdawg Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (10:11 am)

JohnK: Btw, question for CorvetteGuy or anyone else that knows: Do GM employees get treated any differently than “off the street” customers re. delivery position or price?

GM employees & retirees (and their families) get preferred pricing or also called the Family First pricing. Its basically dealer invoice pricing. I believe there’s a little room in there for dealer profit and they can always try to sell the extras to the customer that don’t come from GM, like extended warranty, rust coating, paint protection, etc.

I hope you can get one and fairly soon at that. In the meantime, here’s a thought: I may be the only person thinking this way but, listening to the build process, I’m thinking it might be better to get one manufactured a bit later than a bit sooner. It seems the learning is continuous so there will be some advantageous tweaks made to the manufacturing process after even a few months.

38

+2

marke5860 Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (10:23 am)

I saw a non-saleable Volt at Stonebriar Chevrolet in Frisco, TX on Saturday. So that’s one way they are using them. It was inside the dealership so they weren’t doing any driving demos unfortunately.

I hope you can get one and fairly soon at that. In the meantime, here’s a thought: I may be the only person thinking this way but, listening to the build process, I’m thinking it might be better to get one manufactured a bit later than a bit sooner. It seems the learning is continuous so there will be some advantageous tweaks made to the manufacturing process after even a few months.

Yeah, I’ve voiced that rationalization (g). I believe that everything happens for a reason, so I can only guess at the outcome of my “Own a Volt” project. Maybe a used one when Gen II comes out? Maybe a New Gen II? Waaaaay down the list is another EREV, from GM or a competitor. But I have a history with the Volt that makes it special (to me, and I think others here).
I eventually get to a place where I’ve accepted whatever outcome presents itself. It’s actually a pretty comfortable place to be.

Be well,
Tagamet

/Got some “practice” yesterday when I discovered that a water pipe had broken inside a wall in our home!

Very cool. Either because of who they are — tech guys rather than car guys — or because of the technology itself, the last few reviews have focused on the human interface and the interface technology much more than the traditional performance metrics you’d find as the focus of most car reviews.

IOW it may not have the same performance but it’s cooler than a Ferrari. LOL

All of this transparency and detail about the inaugural launch of the Volt kinda reminds me of the attention everyone had for the first of the Apollo lunar missions and early Shuttle missions.

After just a few of those missions though they became routine and no one really paid any attention, until something went very wrong.

Sad to think that after this mission of the first launch of the Chevy Volt that subsequent generations of the Volt will be met with similar “ho humness”. On the other hand, when the release of yet “another” electric vehicle becomes routine, then that in itself is something to celebrate.

44

Tagamet Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (10:56 am)

David: All of this transparency and detail about the inaugural launch of the Volt kinda reminds me of the attention everyonehad for the first of the Apollo lunar missions and early Shuttle missions.After just a few of those missions though they became routine and no one really paid any attention, until something went very wrong.Sad to think that after this mission of the first launch of the Chevy Volt that subsequent generations of the Volt will be met with similar “ho humness”.On the other hand, when the release of yet “another” electric vehicle becomes routine, then that in itself is something to celebrate.

Too bad that NASA didn’t have Lyle behind them (g).

Be well,
Tagamet

45

+2

Texas Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (11:11 am)

David: All of this transparency and detail about the inaugural launch of the Volt kinda reminds me of the attention everyonehad for the first of the Apollo lunar missions and early Shuttle missions.After just a few of those missions though they became routine and no one really paid any attention, until something went very wrong.Sad to think that after this mission of the first launch of the Chevy Volt that subsequent generations of the Volt will be met with similar “ho humness”.On the other hand, when the release of yet “another” electric vehicle becomes routine, then that in itself is something to celebrate.

Yes! This is what I hope for – routine mass production of electrified transportation. Once you get it started, it’s like a waterfall. People will wonder why it took us so long to get this done. Why did the oil companies have so much power?

46

BLDude Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (11:15 am)

Jim I: I had no idea there were so many different versions that get built before they start building the models for sale.I wonder what happens to all those cars once they have finished testing them?Interesting stuff!!!!The clock is really ticking now!!!NPNS

Perhaps they meet the crusher?

47

Tex-Arl Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (11:20 am)

Racing Engineer: They sure better get it right because I have never seen such a slow process for a new vehicle launch ever. They are milking this one big time. You can almost hand build them faster than this. LOL (Quote)

It is obvious you aren’t familiar with all that is involved to produce something like the Volt in the volumes and that all have to be identical so they can be serviced.

The process is identical to what I wrote on this site a couple years ago. I would be a litttle surprised that they don’t produce “salable” units until Nov late.

Another comment re 50 units—the volume you want to build is simply the number of line spaces you allocate. I imagine the plant is a sixty -Spaces- per hour plant. I know it was designed for that. So if you want sixty Volts per hour all the spaces will have a Volt. Of course you would have to find production for the present build—like open another plant.

48

Larry Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (11:23 am)

The GM employees discount was reduced in January to less than 3% of list. In addition employees cannot buy cars at a discount when there is limited supply. The Volt is one of those vehicles. The Camaro for most of the first year of production was another.

Now to the first saleable production vehicles. For the last several years, GM has built ‘Captured Fleet Vehicles’ of NEW vehicle platforms, (Volt, Camaro, Cruze, Regal, CTS Wagon as examples) and gave them to higher level engineers and managers to drive prior to starting normal production to ensure the vehicles are ready for production and there are NO surprises. And yes they are used to make final tweakes. These vehicles are typically auctioned off to dealers at a later date. Prior to sale they are typically updated with any production change that was made after they were built.

49

Tex-Arl Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (11:33 am)

Larry: The GM employees discount was reduced in January to less than 3% of list. In addition employees cannot buy cars at a discount when there is limited supply. The Volt is one of those vehicles. The Camaro for most of the first year of production was another.Now to the first saleable production vehicles. For the last several years, GM has built ‘Captured Fleet Vehicles’ of NEW vehicle platforms, (Volt, Camaro, Cruze, Regal, CTS Wagon as examples) and gave them to higher level engineers and managers to drive prior to starting normal production to ensure the vehicles are ready for production and there are NO suprises. These vehicles are typically auctioned off to dealers at a later date. Prior to sale they are typically updated with any production change that was made after they were built. (Quote)

This is a new process from the “old days”. Thanks for the info. These then would be like brass hat vehicles. Those are refurbished to salable level not new level. That is normal wear and tear are not refurbished.

Sounds good. Maybe these non retail salable units will be put in the hands of at least a couple of bloggers so that we can hear their feedback. Do we know where GM would expand production to when they need to ramp production past what Hamtramck can produce?

Actually, there IS a site, a lot like this one, that closely follows NASA’s activities. At http://www.nasaspaceflight.com you’ll find a front page with in-depth articles about NASA activities (mostly manned but some unmanned), mostly written and researched by one guy who has incredible sources inside NASA. Then there’s a forum populated with a community of space fans, but unusually well-versed in the history of the program and the specifics of technology. There are countless people from inside NASA who hang out there, and you will always find out about new developments there first, because the engineer who is directly responsible is often posting it there himself (after he tells his boss). And THEN there is “Level 2″ at that site, which is a premium (for pay) section that has a gazillion internal NASA docs. Utter and complete info overload.

Lyle, you would be well advised to consider that as a model for the gm-volt.com future. Create a premium section for Volt owners to add their vehicle to a database, get access to owner-only forums, etc. You know there are many of us who will happily pay for it, if for no other reason than to thank you for this site!

54

Tagamet Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (11:51 am)

Chris C.: …That article has the first description I think that we’ve seen of the rear camera system. Neat! I skipped that option, but it’ll be cool to see in operation…

Yeah, it’s neat that the picture “projects” where you’re headed – and changes when you turn the wheel. *Very* cool!

Be well,
Tagamet

55

+2

WopOnTour Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (11:54 am)

Larry: The GM employees discount was reduced in January to less than 3% of list. In addition employees cannot buy cars at a discount when there is limited supply. The Volt is one of those vehicles. The Camaro for most of the first year of production was another.Now to the first saleable production vehicles. For the last several years, GM has built ‘Captured Fleet Vehicles’ of NEW vehicle platforms, (Volt, Camaro, Cruze, Regal, CTS Wagon as examples) and gave them to higher level engineers and managers to drive prior to starting normal production to ensure the vehicles are ready for production and there are NO surprises. And yes they are used to make final tweakes. These vehicles are typically auctioned off to dealers at a later date. Prior to sale they are typically updated with any production change that was made after they were built. (Quote)

Good post.Right on the money.
And to add another “internal” customer being the various training departments (eg Raytheon) where several of these saleable units will go to facilitate “hands on” training for the dealership Volt technicians. This is necessary so that the training can occur pre-launch and insure there are trained people available for pre-delivery inspections and at delivery of sale #1.
By creating “internal” audits of the car it will also insure a secure feedback/reporting structure that will permit any build issues to be identified and potentially rectified prior to the commencment of production for retail customers.
WopOnTour

56

+5

Tagamet Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (12:09 pm)

Chris C.: Lyle, you would be well advised to consider that as a model for the gm-volt.com future. Create a premium section for Volt owners to add their vehicle to a database, get access to owner-only forums, etc. You know there are many of us who will happily pay for it, if for no other reason than to thank you for this site!

From a totally unbiased point of view (read someone who won’t OWN a Volt for a while), I resent the exclusivity of this idea. A premium section open here that excluded people based on their ownership of a Volt, would be a stunner. I could understand a fee-based, premium section, but not based on Volt ownership. Do you need to own a rocket to get in the premium site at NASA?? JMO.

Be well,
Tagamet

57

+3

Rashiid Amul Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (12:31 pm)

Chris C.: I could do without the sexist comments about the woman in the photo. She has a masters degree and is plant manager, ferchrissakes.

Agreed. I wanted to respond to it, but couldn’t quite get the words right in my head.
I know he was joking, but it was off color.

58

+1

DonC Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (12:34 pm)

Chris C.: I could do without the sexist comments about the woman in the photo. She has a masters degree and is plant manager, ferchrissakes.

This wasn’t meant for me, was it? I agree with you on this and didn’t think I ever mentioned Terri Quigley.

But since you’ve brought it up …… What I like about this picture is that she looks totally authentic. No idea if this is true or not, but she looks like she could roll up her sleeves and take an engine apart. Definitely doesn’t look like someone trying to figure out how to get a good seat in the executive dining hall, which means she’s perfectly suited to running a production facility.

IOW from a technical standpoint it’s a great image. Nice photograph.

59

Rashiid Amul Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (12:44 pm)

DonC: This wasn’t meant for me, was it? I agree with you on this and didn’t think I ever mentioned Terri Quigley.

I didn’t see yours. I was referring to post #22 specifically.
But just between us, I sent the picture to my wife.
I like the outfit and my wife is built similarly.

60

DonC Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (12:51 pm)

Rashiid Amul: But just between us, I sent the picture to my wife.
I like the outfit and my wife is built similarly.

Ba ha ha ha ha ha ha! Compliments to you wife.

61

+1

Loboc Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (1:02 pm)

Rashiid Amul: But just between us, I sent the picture to my wife.
I like the outfit and my wife is built similarly.

Better keep your act together then. That girl looks like she could dead-lift a small-block Chevy engine.

/but with her pinky finger uplifted for style.

62

Chris C. Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (1:39 pm)

Tagamet: From a totally unbiased point of view (read someone who won’t OWN a Volt for a while), I resent the exclusivity of this idea. A premium section open here that excluded people based on their ownership of a Volt, would be a stunner. I could understand a fee-based, premium section, but not based on Volt ownership. Do you need to own a rocket to get in the premium site at NASA??JMO.

Nah, I guess I don’t think it should be limited to Volt owners. Just a general idea to think about. As with all of the technology ideas that get bandied around here, I’m sure Lyle is way ahead of us on this.

Loboc: Better keep your act together then. That girl looks like she could dead-lift a small-block Chevy engine.

/but with her pinky finger uplifted for style.

lol. I do my best, but it is tough sometimes.

64

Jim I Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (1:50 pm)

Rashiid Amul:
For real?That long?How long does it take to build a car?I thought each car could be built in less than a day.For some reason, I was thinking an hour or two or perhaps less than that.

=================================

When the Chevy Cobalt was really being built in large quantities, there was a completed car coming off the line about every three minutes. But I remember reading that it took about 15 hours from start to finish to build a car in the Lordstown plant.

I will see if I can find a source for that…..

65

ProfessorGordon Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (2:14 pm)

David: All of this transparency and detail about the inaugural launch of the Volt kinda reminds me of the attention everyonehad for the first of the Apollo lunar missions and early Shuttle missions.After just a few of those missions though they became routine and no one really paid any attention, until something went very wrong.Sad to think that after this mission of the first launch of the Chevy Volt that subsequent generations of the Volt will be met with similar “ho humness”.On the other hand, when the release of yet “another” electric vehicle becomes routine, then that in itself is something to celebrate.

True, but I believe the Volt will gather a following of a different kind. More and more people will want one!

66

Charlie H Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (2:15 pm)

DonC: I hope you can get one and fairly soon at that. In the meantime, here’s a thought: I may be the only person thinking this way but, listening to the build process, I’m thinking it might be better to get one manufactured a bit later than a bit sooner. It seems the learning is continuous so there will be some advantageous tweaks made to the manufacturing process after even a few months. (Quote)

That’s an update of the “Avoid the First Model Year” mantra.

67

Jim in PA Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (2:25 pm)

John C. Briggs: Pretty sure the non-salable units are crushed. We used to do this in the disk drive business.

Storing a few away for future museum donations would be nice…

68

ProfessorGordon Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (2:29 pm)

Rashiid Amul:
Agreed.I wanted to respond to it, but couldn’t quite get the words right in my head.
I know he was joking, but it was off color.

And I third the sentiment. Let’s show more respect to these very respectable (and admittedly good looking) ladies. A good compliment is one thing, but…

69

+1

JohnK Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (3:23 pm)

CorvetteGuy: So then, can we safely say that ‘mentally’ you are already driving it?

I thought that the majority of us that lurk here did that…

70

JohnK Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (3:35 pm)

/not really OT: the order tracking website is active. Looks like you need an OnStar user id to get to the best stuff. It looks to me like that requires a VIN.
I posted a version of this comment early this morning, but noticed that it was “awaiting moderation”, evidently because of the URL.

71

Tagamet Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (3:43 pm)

Chris C.: Tagamet: From a totally unbiased point of view (read someone who won’t OWN a Volt for a while), I resent the exclusivity of this idea. A premium section open here that excluded people based on their ownership of a Volt, would be a stunner. I could understand a fee-based, premium section, but not based on Volt ownership. Do you need to own a rocket to get in the premium site at NASA??JMO.

Chris C.: Nah, I guess I don’t think it should be limited to Volt owners. Just a general idea to think about. As with all of the technology ideas that get bandied around here, I’m sure Lyle is way ahead of us on this.

Cool. Lyle would have to lose a lot of ground for him *not* to be ahead of us (lol).
I guess we’ll need to “Stay tuned”….

No kidding. It’s my understanding that some people dream about being able to fly (without drugs or aircraft, that is).

But while that does sound like fun, I’m easier to satisfy… I just wanna drive electrically, for a price I can afford.

Come to think of it, though, a neutered OPEC would be a nice bonus.

73

kdawg Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (4:05 pm)

DonC: I hope you can get one and fairly soon at that. In the meantime, here’s a thought: I may be the only person thinking this way but, listening to the build process, I’m thinking it might be better to get one manufactured a bit later than a bit sooner. It seems the learning is continuous so there will be some advantageous tweaks made to the manufacturing process after even a few months.

A lot of those tweaks are just streamlining the assembly process. One of my friends is a mechanical engineer at GM, and several years ago as a production line supervisor/engineer his responsibilty was to make the assembly of the water shield inside the car door easier. This was on a car that was already in production. They just modified the pieces a bit to make it easier for the guys to assemble. The end user never knew the difference. (note: they actually made the engineers work a few hours on the line so they knew what they were dealing with)

74

Chris C. Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (4:06 pm)

JohnK: /not really OT: the order tracking website is active. Looks like you need an OnStar user id to get to the best stuff. It looks to me like that requires a VIN. I posted a version of this comment early this morning, but noticed that it was “awaiting moderation”, evidently because of the URL.

That’s strange. I saw your comment this morning, and was wondering why you were posting it again. I don’t see it now. It’s probably those Prius haters, hacking into the matrix.

75

DonC Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (4:21 pm)

kdawg: A lot of those tweaks are just streamlining the assembly process.

No doubt that is true. But sometimes it’s a quality issue. I think I’ve read that one advantage Ford has over GM in the quality department is that information from dealers is funneled back to the factory much more quickly at Ford. I can’t remember exactly what the numbers were, but if a customer comes into a Ford dealer with a complaint about a new car that info gets back to the factory in about a day or so. At GM it’s a significantly longer process.

There are reasons why first model year cars generally get lower scores on the JD Power’s Initial Quality Survey. Nothing helps you figure out how to make things more than making things! LOL

76

-5

jbfalaska Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (5:49 pm)

The British are coming, the British are coming. No wait, I mean, the Republicans are coming, the Republicans are coming. This isn’t a political statement, as much as a Paul Revere warning about the probable loss of the tax credit when the Republicans take over the House in the Fall. Anyone here believe this tax credit will be renewed if that happens, I have swamp land to sell.

Hurry Volt fans. CHEVY VOLT: American-made, American-FUELED. And may it survive, even if thru tax credits. Good for America – every dollar is offset by keeping imported Oil the he___ out of this country.

77

flmark Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (6:18 pm)

Tagamet: …Maybe a used one when Gen II comes out? Maybe a New Gen II? Waaaaay down the list is another EREV, from GM or a competitor. But I have a history with the Volt that makes it special (to me, and I think others here). ! (Quote)

‘History’. Interesting way to put it that a strikes a chord in me. A dispassionate outsider would not get this, since it seems ridiculous to mention a ‘history’ with something that hasn’t even sold one unit yet. Yet, I agree with the sentiment. It would almost be a crime for me NOT to get a gen 1 Volt (I am not in initial rollout area so I have to wait a bit anyway), since I have been ‘selling’ relatives, friends and neighbors on this car for nearly three years now. I have multiple (relatively new) hybrids and no real urgent need to get this vehicle. But if I take a step away for a moment, I realize that I might end up looking like a hypocrite if I don’t put my money where my mouth has been for quite some time now.

While Ted from Ft Myers is driving to Michigan to pick his up, I will (patiently, but expectantly) wait for the first one to show up in Arcadia, FL.

78

Ted in Fort Myers Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (6:21 pm)

CorvetteGuy: So then, can we safely say that ‘mentally’ you are already driving it? (Quote)

flmark: ‘History’. Interesting way to put it that a strikes a chord in me. A dispassionate outsider would not get this, since it seems ridiculous to mention a ‘history’ with something that hasn’t even sold one unit yet. Yet, I agree with the sentiment. It would almost be a crime for me NOT to get a gen 1 Volt (I am not in initial rollout area so I have to wait a bit anyway), since I have been ’selling’ relatives, friends and neighbors on this car for nearly three years now. I have multiple (relatively new) hybrids and no real urgent need to get this vehicle. But if I take a step away for a moment, I realize that I might end up looking like a hypocrite if I don’t put my money where my mouth has been for quite some time now. While Ted from Ft Myers is driving to Michigan to pick his up, I will (patiently, but expectantly) wait for the first one to show up in Arcadia, FL. (Quote)

flmark I cannot wait until they decide to put Florida on the roll out map… Initally Florida was supposed to be one of the rollout areas. I do not trust GM, politicians, or the oil companies to not squash this little jewel or the $7500.00 rebate. So I am getting mine as soon as I can to keep from happening what happened to the EV-1. I never managed to get one of those but I will get a volt. It’s the kind of determination that got me a 2006 Honda Insight 60 MPG 2 seater before they were discontinued. When I bought mine, there was only 4 for sale in Florida and I got one.

flmark:
‘History’.Interesting way to put it that a strikes a chord in me.A dispassionate outsider would not get this, since it seems ridiculous to mention a ‘history’ with something that hasn’t even sold one unit yet.Yet, I agree with the sentiment.It would almost be a crime for me NOT to get a gen 1 Volt (I am not in initial rollout area so I have to wait a bit anyway), since I have been ’selling’ relatives, friends and neighbors on this car for nearly three years now.I have multiple (relatively new) hybrids and no real urgent need to get this vehicle.But if I take a step away for a moment, I realize that I might end up looking like a hypocrite if I don’t put my money where my mouth has been for quite some time now.While Ted from Ft Myers is driving to Michigan to pick his up, I will (patiently, but expectantly) wait for the first one to show up in Arcadia, FL.

I hear you. I almost used the word relationship instead of history, but thought that history fit better (and sounded less kinky). I wonder if GM has a (and I say this with affection)CLUE how many Volts we’ve sold? I was willing to go to a nearby State to purchase a Volt and had a $1K deposit down, but then they announced the (heart-breaking) price. We just can’t swing that. Got the deposit back. Got a second part-time job. And, darn it, someday, I’ll get a Volt.

10/30/2007 production of Two-Mode began
2/08/2008 first sighting report, 3 demo models on a truck
3/16/2008 first confirmed report of delivery to a consumer

Even just facts alone get negative votes.

Isn’t setting realistic expectations based on actual events of the past constructive?

84

+2

nuclearboy Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (7:40 pm)

Rashiid Amul: For real? That long? How long does it take to build a car? I thought each car could be built in less than a day. For some reason, I was thinking an hour or two or perhaps less than that.

I was not talking about the time to roll down the assembly line. I think we have answers to that above. I was talking about the time from the build week to the time it is trucked or loaded on a train and finally arrives at a dealership.

I know it can be at least 2 weeks from my own GM buys (I have factory ordered my last few cars and get a build date).

I think Corvette guy is probably better at providing this information and he suggests it will be more like a month.

My point of the post was to say that the November/December build date start would end up in a late December and maybe January delivery date for the first cars.

I was always hoping they would be in showrooms in November.

85

JEC Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (7:53 pm)

nuclearboy:
I was not talking about the time to roll down the assembly line.I think we have answers to that above.I was talking about the time from the build week to the time it is trucked or loaded on a train and finally arrives at a dealership.I know it can be at least 2 weeks from my own GM buys (I have factory ordered my last few cars and get a build date).I think Corvette guy is probably better at providing this information and he suggests it will be more like a month.My point of the post was to say that the November/December build date start would end up in a late December and maybe January delivery date for the first cars.I was always hoping they would be in showrooms in November.

I would bet they will have the showroom model in many of the eligible dealers by the Nov 11th date. Getting a test drive would be a real hoot. I wish we were in a rollout state. I would camp out in the dealer lot, waiting to be first in line to test drive.

Getting one in your driveway will likely be a couple months away, best case.

86

JEC Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (7:54 pm)

john1701a:
Even just facts alone get negative votes.Isn’t setting realistic expectations based on actual events of the past constructive?

JEC:
I’ll trust you on that.Just closed my eyes, but all I see is darkness….hmmmm, maybe I need to see an optometrist?

Nope, you’re with the right specialist (g). That last link does work though.

Be better,
Tagamet

97

+1

Loboc Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (8:50 pm)

john1701a:
Even just facts alone get negative votes.Isn’t setting realistic expectations based on actual events of the past constructive?

Being way off topic and having nothing to say about the data might cause some people to think it was spam.

98

Seth Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (8:58 pm)

What do these lines from the article all have in common?

Terri Quigley is the plant manager of the Detroit-Hamtramck (DHAM) plant were the Chevrolet Volt is being built.

What the difference between these and the ones you will actually ship to dealers for consumers?

… we’ve got everythgin tidied up and ready to go for the consumers.

Yeah, in layman’s terms that really what we’re talking about.

These might becalled non-retail salables then?

So your building them very slowly at this point?

So when you build these cars, do mostly of the control units arrive already programmed or do you program them there?

99

Chris C. Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (9:52 pm)

flmark: While Ted from Ft Myers is driving to Michigan to pick his up …

Ted in Fort Myers, is that true? I’ve got a thread in the forum where I’m keeping track of long distance purchasers. We have a guy in Miami who’s buying from northern Virginia (like me, and I’m in Atlanta). His distance is 1136 miles. I think yours is about 1300 miles so you might take the cake.

100

Tagamet Says

Sep 13th, 2010 (10:00 pm)

Chris C.:
Ted in Fort Myers, is that true?I’ve got a thread in the forum where I’m keeping track of long distance purchasers.We have a guy in Miami who’s buying from northern Virginia (like me, and I’m in Atlanta).His distance is 1136 miles.I think yours is about 1300 miles so you might take the cake.

But if you have no interest in a plug-in ally, check out what’s hot off the press from WSJ, NYT, and Reuters. $3,000 to $5,000 more keeps the price nicely under 30. It’s unfortunate attempts to be play as a team continue to get negative responses.

102

-3

DonC Says

Sep 14th, 2010 (12:35 am)

john1701a: But if you have no interest in a plug-in ally, check out what’s hot off the press from WSJ, NYT, and Reuters. $3,000 to $5,000 more keeps the price nicely under 30.

It’s not clear what the base is. But in any case the plug-in Prius is such a complete loser on just about any front that, nicely under $30k or not, I’m not sure why Toyota is bothering. Seems that Toyota is belatedly coming to the same conclusion, which is why we’re going to see the E-RAV4 powered by 6,854 laptop batteries. That’s inferior technology on several fronts but at least it’s somewhat interesting.

103

Roy H Says

Sep 14th, 2010 (3:07 am)

john1701a: 10/30/2007 production of Two-Mode began2/08/2008 first sighting report, 3 demo models on a truck3/16/2008 first confirmed report of delivery to a consumer

I did not vote you negative, but I was unsure what you were getting at. If I read this correctly, you are comparing the fact that the two-mode took 5-1/2 months from first production to customer hand and the Volt first production was in March 31 and first customers will be in December, so 8 months. What is your point?

Two-Mode was in pre-production and had early builds too. True production didn’t begin until 2 weeks before Volt’s planned date. Expectations of early December delivery to consumers don’t seem realistic.

Of course, with a select few making incredibly smug comments like “such a complete loser“, harm to Volt’s reputation is becoming more of a concern than simply waiting a little longer.

105

Charlie H Says

Sep 14th, 2010 (1:36 pm)

DonC: It’s not clear what the base is. But in any case the plug-in Prius is such a complete loser on just about any front that, nicely under $30k or not, I’m not sure why Toyota is bothering. Seems that Toyota is belatedly coming to the same conclusion, which is why we’re going to see the E-RAV4 powered by 6,854 laptop batteries. That’s inferior technology on several fronts but at least it’s somewhat interesting. (Quote)

Toyota is likely bothering precisely because it can be “nicely under $30K.” A price advantage is a very powerful marketing tool.

Of course Toyota, as GM did until recently, is playing coy and not saying whether it’s MSRP or “net with tax credit.” Very annoying.

106

Larry McFall Says

Sep 15th, 2010 (2:42 pm)

Does anybody speak understandable language. What in the hell is a “Salable Build”? Well good, I’m really glad that the New GM has a “Salable Build”.

107

Dante Says

Sep 17th, 2010 (12:41 am)

Eco_Turbo: Just more hogging of all the fun. Let the customers do a little of the testing. (Quote)

Toyota seems to have taken that approach over the last few years… look where it’s gotten them.